Kudos to Ballard.

[Kray007]

Obviously, he never had any intention of letting Taylor walk away as a free agent. He recognized Taylor’s talent, how valuable he was to the team, and how crucial he was to their future. He simply preferred to wait until the end of the season before pulling the trigger.

Events of the past few months upset that applecart, and he found himself drawn into an increasingly acrimonious showdown. Kudos to him for not letting the vituperation and frustration overwhelm common sense. How many times have we seen teams in similar situations shoot themselves in the foot, throw up their hands, and ship players off for little or nothing in return?

Chris Ballard didn’t make the same mistake, he didn’t cut off his nose to spite his face. He didn’t break the bank, didn’t make Taylor the highest paid RB in NFL history. He simply paid him a few months earlier than he’d planned.

He avoided any more antagonism, avoided forcing a disgruntled player back into the locker room, avoided the nasty prospect of forcing Taylor to play under a franchise tag, avoided a bidding war in free agency, and held onto, arguably, the best RB in the game.